Workers’ Party (WP) politician Leon Perera has revealed how the Star Wars movie franchise helped shape his political views, as he reflected on the end of 2019 and the last decade in a Facebook post published on 31 Dec.

Revealing that he watched the first Star Wars movie as a 7-year-old boy, Mr Perera shared that the epic space opera saga instilled in him the value of never abandoning hope for a better future or losing hope in one’s community despite the huge obstacles that may come.

He wrote: “2019 marked the “end” of one of my favourite movie franchises, the 9 episode Star Wars saga. As a 7 year old child, the first Star Wars movie I saw instilled in me a deep and enduring sense of respect for not only the idea of never abandoning hope for a better future but also the idea of not losing hope in one’s community, even in the face of huge challenges.”

Mr Perera, an Oxford University-educated co-founder and CEO of an international business research and consulting agency, served as a WP grassroots activist at Aljunied Group Representation Constituency’s (GRC) Paya Lebar division prior to the 2015 Singapore General Election.

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In the 2015 election, Mr Perera was fielded as one of the members of the WP team contesting East Coast GRC. His team lost to the ruling People’s Action Party, with 39.27 per cent of votes.

Despite losing the ward, the WP East Coast GRC team was the best performing opposition team that had lost and was thus eligible to take up a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) seat. The WP nominated Mr Perera to serve as NCMP in Singapore’s 13th Parliament – a role he has been holding to date.

Expressing his desire that the New Year will “launch Singapore forward to a stronger and better future,” Mr Perera said in a Facebook post published on New Year’s Eve: “A decade is coming to an end. May the New Year bring peace, good health, success and joy to one and all.

“In 2020 and beyond, may Singapore become defined by unity in the midst of diverse voices and perspectives; where unity is defined by our ability to democratically debate, negotiate and reconcile differences rather than regard disagreement as disrespect and division.

“May we be a nation of not only successful leaders but also successful citizens; citizens who feel this is home, where they can express themselves and fully participate in the life of their nation, rather than bend to accommodate the dominant narrative spun by the powerful.”

Read his post in full here:

A decade is coming to an end. May the New Year bring peace, good health, success and joy to one and all. In 2020 and…